McLaren confirmed that Lando Norris will take a 10-place grid penalty at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix after the team fitted him with a fourth power electronics unit of the season, exceeding the three-unit limit permitted under F1's component regulations.
Norris has been repeatedly affected by power unit issues in 2026, including a failure to start the Chinese Grand Prix and further complications in Japan and Monaco. Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains has since introduced reliability fixes to its power electronics systems, prompting McLaren to fit the new unit — and with it, the automatic grid penalty.
McLaren chose to take the penalty at Spa-Francorchamps specifically because of the circuit's overtaking-friendly layout, giving Norris the best realistic chance of recovering positions during the race itself rather than losing ground permanently in qualifying.
The timing compounds an already difficult title defense. Norris enters the Belgian Grand Prix fifth in the drivers' championship with 97 points after nine rounds, with only two podium finishes so far this season — a modest return for a reigning champion. The penalty makes an already uphill points battle harder still, though Spa's layout means the net damage to his race result may be smaller than at a tighter, harder-to-pass circuit.
Qualifying and race coverage will follow as the weekend progresses.
